A preliminary hearing for former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., who is accused of raping several women, took a really strange turn on Wednesday when one of the women identified Winslow’s lawyer as the man who attacked her.

According to the New York Post, the preliminary hearing was set to determine whether the one-time NFL star would stand trial after being accused of multiple counts of “kidnapping, rape, indecent exposure and burglary.”

Advertisement

Winslow pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. On Wednesday, when one of the women who claimed that she was attacked by Winslow was asked to point him out in the courtroom, she point to and identified his lawyer, Brian Watkins, as her attacker.

“The man in the middle,” the woman said, identifying Watkins.

“Don’t put Brian Watkins, accused of rape,” Watkins told The USA Today. “Don’t do that, man. There will be defamation lawsuits all over the place.”

Advertisement

Winslow is accused of raping the homeless woman on March 13, according to charging documents viewed by the New York Post. Her inability to identify Winslow in court was used by his attorney to bolster the former Pro Bowl tight end’s innocence.

“Well, she did not describe our defense and our client and didn’t ID him in court,” Watkins later said outside of the San Diego County courtroom. “She ID’d me. I didn’t have anything to do with this. You better not write that I did.”

A San Diego County Sheriff’s Department deputy also testified that the woman was unable to identify Winslow from a photo lineup.

Advertisement

“Two other witnesses in the case also could not identify Winslow in court on Wednesday, including a 58-year-old woman who said a man named ‘David’ entered her home in Cardiff-by-the-Sea and exposed himself in June. When asked Wednesday if Winslow was on her property that day, the woman could not identify him,” KSWB reports.

Winslow is also charged with raping a 59-year-old woman on May 13. She is expected to testify Thursday. If convicted, Winslow faces up to life in prison.